Parks Eclipses 1000 Point Mark, Wolfpack Girls Defeat O’Neill

ELGIN — The Wolfpack girls basketball team capped a busy week Saturday afternoon with a 54 to 39 victory over O’Neill.
The Lady Eagles kept the game close in the first half, then were steamrolled in the second half by the Wolfpack’s up tempo attack.
Early on the Wolfpack jumped out to a 12 to 8 lead after the first quarter as Jordan Mescher provided a spark. She had five points in the first quarter to lead the way. O’Neill, to their credit, battled back to tie the score at 18-all with 2:08 left before halftime on a basket by Emily Morrow. Up until that moment the Wolfpack were maintaining their lead with balanced scoring as five players scored in the quarter, led by Liz Selting with four points.
A two-point basket by Baylee Wemhoff and a trey from Jenna Parks staked the Wolfpack to a nine-point lead, 27 to 18, early in the third quarter.
The teams then traded baskets before Parks, a senior, reached a career milestone. A putback basket at the 5:36 mark of the third quarter gave Parks 1,000 points in her four-year career as a member of the Wolfpack.
Leading 31 to 22, the Wolfpack closed out the quarter with a nine-to-four run to take a 15-point lead, 40 to 25. Selting had seven of the nine points including a trey.
In the final eight minutes, O’Neill cut into the Wolfpack’s lead, narrowing it to 10 points with 3:48 left on the clock. EPPJ then closed out the game with a flourish, outscoring the Lady Eagles nine to six. Parks had four points, Allyson Wemhoff added a trey and Paige Meis added a field goal to close out scoring on a victorious night.
O’Neill was led in scoring by Makalya Pardun with 16 points, Payton Birlel added 12.
The Wolfpack were led by Parks with 19 points, Selting added 11.
Wolfpack 54, O’Neill 39
O’Neill……….…………….8 10 7 14 — 39
Wolfpack…………………12 10 18 14 — 54
Wolfpack — Liz Selting 4-8 2-4 11, Jenna Parks 5-13 8-10 19, Anna Heilhecker 0-0 0-0 0, Amy Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Lydia Behnk 0-1 0-0 0, Calli Krebs 0-2 2-3 2, Paige Meis 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan Mescher 2-6 4-5 7, Baylee Wemhoff 2-4 4-5 8, Ally Wemhoff 2-9 0-0 5, Katie Polk 0-1 0-0 0. Team totals: 16-46 19-27 54. O’Neill team totals: 15-47 9-17 39.
Team statistics — Three-point shots – Wolfpack 3-9 (Liz Selting 1, Jenna Parks 1, Ally Wemhoff 1), O’Neill 2-11. Rebounds – Wolfpack 38 (Jenna Parks 14), St. Mary’s 19. Assists – Wolfpack 10 (Jenna Parks 4), O’Neill 3. Steals – Wolfpack 10 (Baylee Wemhoff 4), O’Neill 10. Turnovers – Wolfpack 15.